Aurum is located in north-west Spring Valley. From Ely, take Highway 93N forty-three (43) miles to Schellbourne Station. Turn east for 14.8 miles to stone house. (This road takes you along portions of the Pony Express trail.) At stone house, turn south on Nevada 893 for 3.5 miles. Exit right and follow this rough road for three miles to Aurum.
Aurum is accessible with a two-wheel drive most of the year - depending on weather conditions.
Foundations, mill ruins and the cemetery are all that remain of the once thriving camp of Aurum at the mouth of Silver Canyon. The presence of approximately fifteen graves can be seen at the cemetery. Mark Henderson, Archaeologist, Bureau of Land Management, Ely District states there is a possibility of three more graves located under the road put in by vehicles cutting across to the cemetery. Only four stones can now be read and one has been vandalized.
The mining camp of Silver Canyon (Aurum) sprang up in 1878. Silver Canyon contained two boarding houses, as well as saloons, a blacksmith shop, a store and a ten (five?) stamp mill
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The mill, located at the mouth of Silver Canyon, started on January 1, 1881. Ore for the mill was transported via tramway from the Blue Bell Mine. The stamps for the mill were brought from an old mill at Ward.
Aurum was split in two sections. Upper Aurum - where the mine and boarding house for the miners was located, and lower with residences, businesses, mill post office, etc.
Ward Reflex reported April 2, 1881, that the Post Office Department objected to the name of "Silver Canyon." The people took a vote, and decided to call the place Aurum. The Reflex stated that "the upper town had to be content with the euphonious name of Doughburg." The question arises, was the name Aurum a dream for gold or did the townspeople get their Latin terms mixed up? Aurum is the Latin word for gold (symbol Au). Mining records for the district show that the name Argent - the Latin word for silver (symbol Erg) made the name "Silver Canyon" appropriate.
A member of the White Pine Historical and Archaeological Society suggested that the name possibly came from a Masonic ritual. Although there was no Masonic lodge at Aurum, many of the residents had strong ties in Cherry Creek where a lodge was located. How did Aurum get its name?
As with all mining camps, it was not all work and no play. An anecdote has been passed down though the years about Old Bailey, an aged Paige who panhandled food from Aurum citizens. Old Bailey was considered simply a pest until he embarrassed one of the local women by begging attired in a ragged shirt and a pair of chaps open in the front and back, minus pants! Clearly, he was considered more than a pest after that.
Unfortunately, history does not tell us if the citizens of Silver Canyon (Aurum) convinced Old Bailey to dress or chased him out of town.
Silver Canyon (Aurum) even reported a shooting scrape. Luckily, the inhabitants were better at mining than shooting. Ward Reflex April 2, 1881 headlines sounded serious, stating "Shooting at Silver Canyon." A man named O’Neil fired two or three shots from a Henry rifle at Poncho Purah, a stock tender for Dan Murphy. The Ward Reflex reported the ball "took effect in his clothing."
At about 9:00 A.M., February 11, 1884 tragedy struck in Silver Canyon. A snow slide came down the canyon above the boarding house of the Sadie L Mine, striking the Sadie L. hill opposite the house, and rebounding, hit the lodging house where the night shift crew – Tim Burns, John O’Brien, Wallace McCrimmon and John Fox - were asleep. Burns and O’Brien were rescued without sign of serious injury. McCrimmon had his neck broken and was killed instantly. John Fox was dead when he was found. Both Fox and McCrimmon were young men. H. W. Mickel, the mine foreman, was in the stable when the avalanche struck and perished beneath the great weight of the snow while a horse in the stable escaped unhurt. James Doherty was in his cabin a few feet from the line of the slide, and was not harmed. Mrs. Mickel, Mrs. Brenton and Mr. Long were in the boarding house kitchen and escaped unhurt, although the room was filled with snow. The lodging house, store and stable were demolished. Funeral services were held for H. W. Mickel and Wallace McCrimmon at Aurum. John Fox was taken into Cherry Creek with much difficulty. Part of the distance the snow was to deep to use horses to transport the body and the two men who were transporting Mr. Fox had to haul him on a hand sled. This tragedy effectively closed the mines down.
The camp went through several periods of boom and bust with the population occasionally getting down to only one inhabitant - Simon Davis. The post office closed May 31, 1938.
It is difficult to explain the aura of the old mill ruins and cemetery at Aurum. Although it is quiet today the sense of activity persists. An illustration is the story of an old miner and his wife who visited Aurum after many years of absence. Looking for scenes from their youth, the miner and his wife tried to re-create the Aurum they had known. Once the mill ruins were located, they could visualize where their friend’s homes, the post office and various businesses had stood. The only thing that had not changed was the mountain. The hustle and bustle of the busy mining camp they had known was gone. Buildings had either been moved when new ore bodies were discovered or torn down and the material re-used. Only ruins and the cemetery remained. The man said if possible he would spend his final days at Aurum - "Give me back my yesterday’s."
Photo of Aurum Post Office from the Ron Healy collection. It doesn't appear to have a lot of amenities! Cold too!